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“They will be returning to
Germany
soon.”
If she had only one day with Jav, maybe that would be
enough.
As soon as they were airborne, Jav handed Cheri an
envelope.
“What’s this?”
“It is a gift from the Prince.”
When Cheri opened the envelope, ten one-thousand dollar
bills were inside.
Her mouth gaped open,
but Jav cautioned her not to say a thing.
“What does he want for this?”
“He requested your company which you gave to him.
That is merely a token to him.”
He winked at her and Cheri quickly looked
away.
Ten grand was a lot of money to
her.
She wondered if she had to give it
to the exchange program, but Jav placed his hand on hers and as if reading her
mind he said, “That is yours to keep, a gift which no one needs to know about.”
Cheri would miss the Prince, but she no longer wished for
a regal man.
Her infatuation with Count
Mario had also waned fairly quickly.
She
learned that the Italian loverboy belonged to many women.
As the plane descended, Cheri hoped to return
to the cabin resort away from the city where she and Jav first met.
As they left the airport she asked, “Where
are we going?”
Jav smiled a devilish smile.
“It is the lady’s choice.
Where does the lady wish to go?”
Cheri thought about it for a minute and then she asked
carefully, “Where will the others be?”
“They will be taken to the hotel until they return to their
country twenty-four hours from now.
Do
you wish to join them?”
The outspoken girl in Cheri was beginning to return after
having been suppressed in the past weeks.
“No, I would prefer to go to the cabin.”
Jav called a driver who whisked them away from the city
and to the countryside resort where they first met.
No one was there and Cheri seized the
opportunity to inquire about the man who was here before, the man Jav had
called his partner.
“Is your partner here?”
“No, Cheri.
He and
I are not partners in the way you may think.
We are what you call friends.”
Jav’s careful choice with his words made Cheri wonder if he was telling
her the truth.
He was hiding something
and yet she still did not know what it was.
Surprisingly, there was a meal waiting for them.
Cheri’s look of surprise was quickly
addressed.
“Who did this?”
“It is my place to make your stay a pleasant one,” he
answered.
He turned his back to her and
Cheri said nothing more.
Cheri realized that she knew this man much less than she
cared to admit and she wondered if she would have been better off remaining in
the city with the others.
As darkness
set in, she accepted the wine that Jav offered, drinking a little too much in
an attempt to deal with everything that had happened.
When the fire died out, Jav led Cheri to the bed.
“My memories of you will remain with me,
mon
Cheri.”
Cheri melted into the arms of the smooth talking man as
he undressed her.
His lips she would
never forget and his passion overwhelmed her.
Jav kissed her with abandon, and his hands upon her breasts was
indescribable.
He lifted her onto the
bed and undressed as she watched.
She
would never forget the body of this man.
He was gorgeous, perfect in her eyes, and she opened herself fully to
him.
Despite her misgivings about him,
she still wanted him.
Jav smiled down at
Cheri before entering her for what he knew would be their last time
together.
He moved with ease inside the
woman who had meant more to him than any of the others.
He would quit the program for this woman, if
only he could.
“Kiss me,” she
begged.
He knew he would regret it
later, but once he had tasted the sweet lips again he could not stop.
Passion overpowered him and lust controlled
him.
He kissed her as he entered her,
taking her as she gave herself to him.
She moaned his name as she reached the pinnacle of pleasure.
As Jav relinquished his seed to this woman,
he wondered where he would find the strength to let her go.
They lay together wrapped in the warmth of
the fire.
When the fire died out and a chill swept across Jav’s
butt, he awoke and very slowly distanced himself from Cheri.
When she awoke a few hours later, he was
sitting in a chair stoking the fire.
“Jav?”
“Over here.”
“Why did you leave me?”
“It is nearly time for your departure.”
That wasn’t what she meant and he knew it,
but he could say no more.
Cheri was tired and not looking forward to the long plane
ride.
She would not be traveling on a
private jet today, nor would she be seated in first class.
She and the other girls would be seated with
weary travelers and businessmen not in the best of moods.
She showered, and dressed in comfortable
clothes for the grueling day ahead of her.
Jav made breakfast for her and informed her that her bags
were packed and waiting in the car.
“The
garments given to you are yours to keep,
mon
Cheri.
They are worth much in American
dollars.”
Cheri forced a weak smile.
She didn’t care about the fancy clothes.
She wanted Jav.
“This is yours also, Cheri…from me.”
He opened a beautiful jewelry box with a
black pearl necklace.
The pearl was
surrounded by tiny white diamonds that sparkled like nothing Cheri had ever
seen.
“It’t beautiful, Jav.
But why?”
Jav stood up to fasten the chain around Cheri’s neck, and
he kissed her ever so gently on the cheek.
“You will remember me, Cheri.”
Still the secrecy.
Something like this meant much more than
friendship to Cheri.
“Of course I’ll
remember you, Jav.
You saved my life,
and I think
I
…”
Jav pressed a finger to her lips.
He would not allow her to speak the words of
so many before her.
“What’s with you, anyway?”
Cheri’s temper was beginning to flare.
“Cheri, I am your guide and nothing more.”
“Really, then why did you have sex with me?”
“Ah, my lovely, how could I not have you when you are so
special?”
“Is that what you tell other women?
How many women have you ‘guided’, Jav?”
“Cheri, the choice to be a part of the exchange program
was yours, and the choice to be a guide was mine.”
Oh, fuck it all.
Cheri was getting nowhere with this man.
The ride into the city was a quiet one.
Neither Cheri nor Jav spoke a word.
At the airport the others were waiting.
The driver took care of Cheri’s luggage and as Cheri stepped out of the
car, Jav gripped her arm.
“Cheri, this is for you,” he said, and handed her an
envelope.
“Please do not show it to
anyone, and let no one know about it.”
Cheri nodded as she fought back tears.
Jav quickly turned away and stared out the
window as Cheri entered the airport.
As
the doors closed behind her, Cheri watched the long black car pull away from
the curb, stealing Jav from her.
She
took her seat on the jet airliner and pulled a blanket across her lap.
She listened somewhat to the other women,
wondering what kinds of experiences they had, but she mostly thought of Jav.
Once she had reached the solitude of her little apartment
in
New York City
,
she dropped her luggage and opened the envelope that Jav had given her.
She stretched out on her bed and stared at
the words:
I was but a poor boy when I joined the guide program.
Now I am a wealthy man.
There are some things which money cannot buy,
and you, Cheri, are one of those things.
You may argue that you are not a thing, but in a sense we are all
things.
You asked how many women there
had been.
There have been many, but none
has touched my heart as you have,
mon
Cheri.
I could soothe you with pretty words and tell
you that I wish things were different, but I will not do that.
For as much as I want you, I am afraid that
exchanging my life of wealth for one woman is a trade I am unwilling to
make.
For this I make no apologies.
I do wish you the life you desire and to that
end I have enclosed a check for one million
United States
dollars.
Fair three well,
mon
Cheri.
Cheri unfolded the check and her first instinct was to
rip it into a million pieces, one for each dollar represented, and
burn
the remains.
But
Cheri was no fool.
Choices are made much
more easily when one is not concerned with such things as food and
shelter.
The possibilities flooded her
brain.
With this amount of money she
could do whatever she wanted.
Money is
fluid.
You have it – you give it.
You need it – you take it.
Cheri had decided to take it.
~K.
Lyn~
